Suspect in village fatal shooting makes self-defence claim

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A man charged with first-degree murder in a Yukon River village told investigators he acted in self-defence.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports 27-year-old Conrad Jones of Koyukuk (KOY-yoo-kuk) is charged in the fatal shooting Tuesday night of 46-year-old Gene Mayfield, his mother’s boyfriend.

Koyukuk is a village of 90 about 290 miles (470 kilometres) west of Fairbanks.

Alaska State Troopers were notified of Mayfield’s death Wednesday afternoon and flew to the village.

According to a criminal complaint, Jones told troopers that he and Mayfield didn’t get along and the older man had been harassing him. Jones said Mayfield came at him with a knife and a gun and he shot the older man.

Trooper Sgt. Jeremy Rupe in the complaint said evidence did not support a claim of self-defence.

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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com